Black Lives Matter
On behalf of CoPIRG and the many organizations that make up the Public Interest Network around the country (you can find the original post and a list of organizations funded by the Emergency Fund for Community Acton here):
“America is a great country. But we have more problems than we should, and more solutions than we use.
The American people are fundamentally virtuous and good-hearted, working year in and year out at their jobs and in their personal and civic lives to make the world a better place — and with every passing decade it does get better. But not for everybody, and not in every way.
The earth and its ecosystems are not getting healthier. Our democracy is not getting stronger. The advances of science and technology are not lifting all boats. We have no silver bullet to eradicate disease or prevent pandemics. And, as the events of the past two weeks have underscored, our nation’s original sin — racism — is still with us.
The flagship organizations of The Public Interest Network, U.S. PIRG and Environment America, neither specialize nor claim expertise in how to eradicate racism, reduce gun violence, heal communities, or run fair, effective public safety programs and criminal justice systems. But the moment calls upon us to help the people and groups whose expertise IS how to make a difference on these issues.
With that in mind, and with the advice of Everytown for Gun Safety and others, we’ve identified a set of community organizations to support.
The Public Interest Network is donating to each of the groups listed above. If you would like to add a personal contribution, you can do so here.”
Authors
Danny Katz
Executive Director, CoPIRG
Danny has been the director of CoPIRG for over a decade. Danny co-authored a groundbreaking report on the state’s transit, walking and biking needs and is a co-author of the annual “State of Recycling” report. He also helped write a 2016 Denver initiative to create a public matching campaign finance program and led the early effort to eliminate predatory payday loans in Colorado. Danny serves on the Colorado Department of Transportation's (CDOT) Efficiency and Accountability Committee, CDOT's Transit and Rail Advisory Committee, RTD's Reimagine Advisory Committee, the Denver Moves Everyone Think Tank, and the I-70 Collaborative Effort. Danny lobbies federal, state and local elected officials on transportation electrification, multimodal transportation, zero waste, consumer protection and public health issues. He appears frequently in local media outlets and is active in a number of coalitions. He resides in Denver with his family, where he enjoys biking and skiing, the neighborhood food scene and raising chickens.